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I finally was able to get the gap closed to within spec. I started out with a .014" gap at the 9 o'clock position and zero gap at the 3 o'clock position (couplers touching). I didn't have a pry bar so I tried to use a block of wood and a sledgehammer to move the rear of the engine to starboard to close the gap at the couplers but it would not budge. Finally went over to the neighbor's and borrowed his 4' long pry bar and that did the trick. Ended up sliding the rear of the engine about 1/4" to starboard. The gap is now .002" from about 1 o'clock to 6 o'clock and zero gap (my smallest feeler gauge, .0015" would not go in) from 6 o'clock to about 1 o'clock. Is that good enough?

A big thank you do Doug (DOCDRS) for answering my e-mails today and providing helpful hints that eventually got me thru this. I was ready to throw in the towel and take it to the dealer next week. A pry bar is definitely the way to go.

that sounds great .... .014 down to .002 is super..... although the goal is to get it less than .002, .003 or less is acceptable in most books. so it just depends how anal you are. thanks for making this post Al, now that you look back you probably are thinking with the proper tools it really isn't that hard a procedure and now your alignment is .012 better.
I've always been a proponent of alignment , and as Al discovered , your alignment can be out and you will not notice any vibration. It needs to be checked regularly as the rubber in your motor mounst will change over time...

can we get a picture posted of what exactly these motor mounts look like and where the adjustment needs to be made at?

This is a pic of the couplers. First thing to do is loosen the 4 bolts holding them together then take a feeler gauge and measure the gap at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions.

This is the port side, rear motor mount. The two nuts in the pic hold the trunnion pins in place. Loosen these two nuts then tap the pins toward the rear of the boat to loosen them and allow the motor mount to slide along the trunnion. Do the same for on the rear starboard side motor mount.

Mark the trunnion as shown in the pic below so you know if you are moving the engine and by how much.

This pic shows how to position a 4' pry bar in order to slide the engine to starboard. The blue thing is a steel chisel and was the right thickness for the job.

This shows how much I moved the engine (about a 1/4") to close a .014" gap at the couplers to .002". Follow the instructions on the first page of this post to find out which way to move the engine depending on where your gap is.